Can urban populism democratize the city? The Tel Aviv-Jaffa 2008 municipal elections and their aftermath

Abstract

How do cities become more democratic? While some view local government as harboring greater democratic opportunities than the state, others identify local obstacles that inhibit democratization. Building on ideas of democratic populism, this article contributes to existing research on the right to the city by demonstrating how the construction of “an urban people,” and rhetoric and practices of urban populism can push for local democratization. Empirical analysis of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa 2008 municipal elections and their aftermath reveals that defining and engaging with a notion of the city's “ordinary people” can serve to further urban democracy. Four mutually reinforcing levels of transformative populism are identified: transformation of discourse, participation, rules of the game, and policy. The findings of this study suggest that democratically transforming discourse faces less resistance from local elites than transforming participation, the rules of the game, and policy.